Selfie is as selfie does

So selfie is Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year, having, in the view of the esteemed lexographers, evolved into a mainstream term for self-portrait. Indeed. Only the other week in Russian class our teacher showed us a photograph of some shipyard workers, looking into the camera, and asked us what they were doing. Working? Striking? Standing up to corrupt communist dictators in Gdansk? No. ‘Taking a selfie?’ ventured one student.

The word may be newly welcomed into mainstream vocabulary, but taking a selfie is an activity with a long and distinguished history. To celebrate the word of the year, Magnum has assembled some brilliant examples of the genre.